Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Arp Schnitger's career as an organ-builder began in 1666 when he was apprenticed to his cousin Berend Huss, who was then engaged in building the organ for the church of St. Cosmae. The three manual divisions were completed in 1671, and under a separate contract Huss and his staff began work on the pedal division.

Vincent Lubeck - by J. Kelemen - Schnitger Organ, St Cosmae in Stade

Vincent Lübeck, who was organist there from 1675 until 1702, later asked Schnitger to make some modifications to the organ, and this work was completed in 1688. Since then the organ has suffered several different modifications, including having the Rückpositiv moved from its original position to a hidden position behind the main case from 1870 until 1948.157 Restoration of the instrument to the state in which Schnitger left it in 1688 was completed by Jürgen Ahrend in 1975.

In its complete form, the organ is a marvelous example of the Werkprinzip organ of late seventeenth-century Germany, and the defining characteristics can be found in its appearance as well as in its stoplist.

After reconstruction of the church following a fire in Stade, Berendt Huß from Glückstadt began construction of a new organ for the church of Sts. Cosmæ and Damiani in 1666. Two years prior to signing the contract for the Oberwerk, Huß's nephew Arp Schnitger joined the workshop. The contract for the Rückpositiv was signed in 1670, the Pedal in 1671, and the Brustwerk in 1672.

The organ was completed in 1675 with notable influences of the young Schnitger: inner pipework was of a 23% tin alloy, and the arrangement of the façade pipes corresponds with Schnitger’s later work. The Oberwerk chest, the oldest, is a spring chest as opposed to the later convention of slider windchests.

Vincent Lübeck was organist from 1675–1702. At his request, Schnitger installed the Trommet 16' in the Oberwerk. The Glockenspiel (45 bells) was installed at the end of the 18th century. A complete restoration of the organ was completed in 1975 by Jürgen Ahrend of Loga-Leer.